Mazda Protegé

snagy1 · January 2003

please provide a link for those lights, they look cool. thanks.

theparallax · January 2003

Procarparts.com sells them

Be sure to check out Protegeclub.com and do a search on gauge installation. The needles are very delicate and break easily. $300+ for a new cluster.

newcar31 · January 2003

I just filled up and got 19 mpg. I have checked my mileage on every tank since the car was new. Previous worst mileage was 24 mpg. I hope it's some sort of measuring error. It is very cold here now and I know that extreme cold negatively affects gas mileage because the car needs to be warmed up for a bit. I'm not talking about 10 minutes of idling, just long enough for the idle to settle down a little. This is also the first time I've been beyond 3000 miles on my oil, but that shouldn't matter because it's Mobil 1 and Mazda recommends 5K intervals with dino. I hope the next tank is better.

protegenic · January 2003

19 mpg? That is truly dismal! I get a rogue tank every now and then, but we are only talking about 24 mpg at worst. Then we have tanks like last week where I get over 380 miles on the tank (all highway as you can imagine).

Man, do I like that instrument panel above!

fowler3 · January 2003

to read this small type. Think I need to get a new browser. Been using Netscape 4.5 since 1998.

fowler3

newcar31 · January 2003

I just don't think I'm brave enough to mess with the gauge needles or take apart the dashboard. I wonder what they would look like in a 2001+ ES with red illumination for the window switch, HVAC controls, and radio?

theparallax · January 2003

I think it'd look a lot better, because red and blue naturally look better together. It's fairly simple to take apart the gauge cluster, five screws and it comes out. The hardest part is having the patience to gently slip the faces over the needles since they are VERY VERY fragile. Fortunately, whoever made these got it right and made the holes big enough for the needles to get through without resorting to cutting them.

In other news, my Protege turned over 50K today. I'm slightly pissed, though, because I didn't get to take a snapshot of the mileage. I was distracted. Here's a shot of the car at 50,005 miles....STOPPED, hehe.

http://www.knology.net/~negatize/images/IMG_0685%20copy.jpg

chicagopro · January 2003

Clint!

maltb · January 2003

I think the Jetta has red controls with a blue display. Maybe Paul can confirm.

protegextwo · January 2003

Well, I had both our 2000 Mazda Protegé ES's serviced. Mine has 49,175 miles and Trudy's has 48,710 miles. Oil change, tire rotation, check battery condition, inspect brake lining, check alignment and I asked to have the trunk key cylinder lubricated on both cars. Everything was good. Both cars measured 6 on the front disc brakes and 4 on the rear drums. Overall, I nice service experience and I'm satisfied with the reliability of my 2000 PRO-ES over the last three years.

Funny, at times even the service department likes to sell you add-ons to create extra profit for the dealership. I was offered... and I politely declined an Engine Power Flush (oil sludge out) and MotorVac Carbon Clean (fuel system cleaning) services. The funny thing was how my service rep, marked declined, on his copy of my service reports after he pitched those services. I had a feeling a sales push was under way because, they would page most everyone in the service waiting room to pick up the hospitality phone and have them talk with their service advisor. Every couple of minuets you would here Mrs. Smith or Mr. Green hem and haw something about next time or maybe at a later time. It was truly funny to see the looks on their faces. :-)

-Larry

mdaffron · January 2003

I'm interested to hear that you asked to have both trunk-lock cylinders lubricated. Is it because you've had to jiggle the key at times to get the trunk open?

Mine has been doing that. Did the lube take care of the problem?

I'm attributing it to the fact that the key has worn down somewhat over the years. Maybe I just need to switch to key no. 2 or just have a new key made ...

I'm at 49,200 this morning. Time to call the dealership for that last-minute in-warranty look-see!

BTW, I've been on synthetic oil since about 38,000 miles. Are you still using dino oil, and if not, have you considered going synthetic?

Meade

P.S. (To Pat's chagrin) They're calling for 8 inches here tonight, with a lowball of 5 and an "in places" estimate of 10! Hopefully I won't have to come in to work tomorrow ... but I'm going to beat the supermarket rush this evening; we need a few things and since my boss is in Atlanta, I might take an "extended lunch" and stop by the store. No problem buying cold stuff at lunchtime; it's 16 degrees right now and only supposed to get up to 33 today -- so my Protege will have a new job this afternoon -- REFRIGERATOR!

;-)

vocus · January 2003

The dash (Clint's) looks alot like the Euro cluster alot of people in my car club have for their VWs. Only I would get it, but the trip computer's reminders are all in German. I also can't justify spending $300 + installation for that either.

Todd, to answer your question about what the red lighting on the radio, etc. would look like with those blue gauges, it would look like my VW does inside. I will snap a digpic of the car lit up tonight when I get home and post it so you all can see if you want.

vocus · January 2003

It was so cold when I got in the car this morning, I was fogging up the windows on the inside by breathing.

God, I hate cold weather like this. It's suppose to snow for a little here, 2-4 inches tonight into tomorrow in MD. I am not trying to drive to work in the snow, so the car might stay home tomorrow and I will take the train to work. People in MD have a hard time driving when it's dry out, let alone snowing.

protegextwo · January 2003

No real problem to begin with, I read your suggestion on the key cylinder stiffness?So, I asked the service advisor to check and lubricate. Heck, it's under warranty now,...if it blows up 6 months from now, me thinks they will go to bat for me and fix gratis?

"BTW, I've been on synthetic oil since about 38,000 miles. Are you still using dino oil, and if not, have you considered going synthetic?"
-Meade

I have the dealer rotate my tires every 4,500 miles and change my dino oil at the same time. They top off my tires at 32 psi and refill the wiper fluid and best of all I get to go into the show room and sit in all the new Mazda and Toyotas!!!! I love going to the dealer every 10 weeks or so. I would feel like I'm wasting my $$$ changing synthetic so often. I'm just a new car junky!!

-Larry

theparallax · January 2003

How much was the Carbon Clean and Oil sludge jobs? I was talking to a mechnic friend of mine about my engine starting to ping again, (this time, using 93 octane) and he said there's a lot of carbon build up in the engine causing spark knock. He said carbon clean, and some new spark plugs should do the trick.

bluong1 · January 2003

what kind of octane was you using before the pinging occurs?

I have heard that the most oil companies put more detergents on the higher octane fuels. Myself, I put an 93 fuels now and then (1/5 tank) to clean the engine.

Bruno

newcar31 · January 2003

"Only I would get it, but the trip computer's reminders are all in German."

That would be a reason for me to do it. I think it would be cool to see that stuff in German if I had a German car. Who cares about the reminders when you can still read the numbers?

Also, for some reason I thought all of the Jetta's illumination was blue. I guess not.

theparallax · January 2003

When I first got the car I used 87. Then it started pinging. Took it to the dealer, they said it was normal. I realized that if I used 93 octane, the pinging would go away, so that's what I've been using ever since.

The problem is, 93 octane takes longer to detonate, so it's leaving carbon buildup in my engine. It doesn't 'clean' your engine out, it does the opposite.

protege_fan · January 2003

I thought pinging was caused by pre-detonation. If you're not having any pinging now, wouldn't that mean you're not having pre-detonation and therefore no excessive carbon buildup?

bluong1 · January 2003

from
http://member.rivernet.com.au/btaylor/BMWText/technical/RoughIdle.html

[... Note: Carbon Buildup was a common problem for the E28 535 caused by poor fuel quality. Many BMW's experienced rough idle due to carbon buildup while still under warranty.It is recommended you use premium gas at least once in every 4 fill-ups. The premium gas contains more detergents to remove the carbon deposits from injectors and gum/varnish buildup on valves. That said however, some Oil Companies add no additional detergents to their regular or premium fuel products... Ask your fuel company for information. ...]

Bruno

vocus · January 2003

I forgot something actually. The controls are lit in red on the climate and radio. The DISPLAY of the radio is blue, as is the odo/tripmeter. Forgot the Pro ES's radio display is red. My fault.

The new gauge panel is like $225 when you have to have VAG-COM to switch it out. Don't know if I wanna go through all that, but I have been thinking about it...

bluong1 · January 2003

No, I think it's true: carbon build up makes the pre-detonation more susceptible to happen (since the pressure of the compressed gas get higher), therefore pinging could be a direct consequence of carbon buildup. Carbon buildup happens because of other factors like poor quality gas and/or a lot of city driving.

Bruno

protege_fan · January 2003

That's not what I'm saying. Parallax said that the higher octane was causing excessive buildup. I'm saying that because of the lack of pinging using the higher octane, detonation is occurring when it should and there shouldn't be excessive carbon buildup (as opposed to driving around w/ pinging).

bluong1 · January 2003

I don't think using higher octane alone can cause carbon buildup, unless if the ignition system, including sparkplug, is weak.

Bruno

mdaffron · January 2003

... and potentially doing more harm than good. Also some of what you said was incorrect, including the line, "I have heard that most oil companies put more detergents on the higher octane fuels. Myself, I put an 93 fuels now and then (1/5 tank) to clean the engine."

Please, everyone who's posted in the last 2 hours, read this link!

http://theserviceadvisor.com/octane.htm

Meade

theparallax · January 2003

...that the car is now pinging w/ 93 octane. This leads me to believe that there's a lot of carbon buildup in the engine.

I've always thought that you're not supposed to use 93 octane unless your manual recommends it. The Protege is designed to run on 87, so if I use 93, it's not burning all of the fuel which leaves deposits.

Oh well, what do I know, I'm not a mechanic!

protege_fan · January 2003

If I had a dollar for every time you've posted that link, I'd be a rich man :P

bluong1 · January 2003

here is why:

- the government regulation requires a *minimum" amount of additives in all gas. Nothing to prevent the oil companies to put more than government regulation.

- I believe some of them indeed did, because I read a scientific study by a car magazine few year back: they bough the gasoline from the gas station and do the laboratory analysis, and there is a difference in the amount of detergent.

Bruno

bluong1 · January 2003

My humble suggestion is:
- check your ignition, starting with the sparkplugs as your mechanics have suggested.
- use a fuel additive to clean your engine
- push your engine now and then to the redline.

Bruno

theparallax · January 2003

I've already ordered a new set of spark plugs and wires off FinishLinePerformance.com. (very cheap, OEM!!) I just thought I'd go ahead and do the carbon clean while I was at it. Thanks for the suggestions.

mdaffron · January 2003

I've been running 87 and nothing BUT 87 in my 2000 ES for 49,200 miles now. No pinging, no engine trouble, not one problem with the car.

And Mike ... I know, I know. But it appears some folks never read it.

All I know is, never, ever, put a higher-than-recommended octane in your tank if your car doesn't call for it. If the engine starts to ping, there's a problem (most likely a MAF or oxygen sensor) that needs to be identified and fixed. And you probably started the problem yourself by putting in higher octane fuel than what's recommended, leaving deposits from what wasn't burned in your engine.

Hey, don't fret, I still love you ... and the gas companies do too!

Meade

bluong1 · January 2003

But the 93 is also recommended by Mazda, at least on my manual. May be it's different with your 1.8l?

I don't use exclusively 93, just once every 5 tanks. May be the detergent of the 87 is enough to avoid carbon buildup, but this hasn't been proven. I don't want to take a risk with my engine.

Here is one more website: http://www.carprices.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?name=fueladditives.html

Bruno

protege_fan · January 2003

93 is recommended in your manual?? What exactly does it say??

protege_fan · January 2003

In regards to the article in post #19599, I think it's a little misleading. She's basically telling you to use higher octane,
"Most U.S. gasoline has additives, and vehicles that consistently use a higher-octane fuel can avoid the need for such an additive. "

I can hear the money burning out of hundreds of people's pockets as they buy premium gas now....

bluong1 · January 2003

My manual say something like:

"Gas recommended: 87 (R+M/2 method) or HIGHER."

Then followed by some constraint related to mixing gas with light hydrocarbon molecules such as ethanol and methanol.

Bruno

tomciviletti · January 2003

My potensa pole position s-03's are working so well, I am considering a strut tower brace. Any suggestions on relative merits of models that will fit a '99es?

theparallax · January 2003

The 1.6 and 1.8 models didn't have a knock sensor if I remember correctly. If you put 93 octane in, the engine will not advance timing for optimal efficiency. Hence, carbon buildup. My mistake, I admit it.

The 2.0 does has one.

the_big_h · January 2003

look at mine and see if you like it

it's the same one from the MP3

I got it from www.mazdastuff.com , they have the whole kit for $99

theparallax · January 2003

...but make sure they supply you w/ the correct cruise control bracket if you have cruise on your car. I'm assuming you do since you have an ES. The MP3 did not have cruise so that's why everyone's orders were messed up.

bluong1 · January 2003

"In addition to higher octane, our Supremes (91) have more of our Techron® additive to give you an even faster clean up of injectors and intake system deposits left by lower quality gasolines."

from
http://www.chevron.ca/ProductsServices/Retail/Gasolines.htm

Bruno

newcar31 · January 2003

I have same brace. Make sure they send the bolts to fasten the strut tower brace to the strut towers too.

fowler3 · January 2003

Anybody coming? You know where.

Hope Edmunds gets this web site running faster. It took 40-minutes to download the front page and 6-minutes each to load the other pages. Sheesh!

fowler3

stupidcar · January 2003

i am thinking of buying a 2003 protege es, but am concerned that the new mazda 3 will really hurt the resale value of this car, being the last year of a generation. Do you guys think now is a good time to buy? I am also considering a corolla, but dont really like the looks and interior as much as the pro.. also would 15,200 be a good target price for the ES with no options? thanks for your help.

kaiserhead · January 2003

I know this is old, but I have a 2000 5-speed with 49,500 miles and still have the original brakes. They were inspected today and are still in good shape.

the_big_h · January 2003

I don't think Mazda3 will hurt the resale of the current generation Proteges too bad. Besides, you shouldn't be buying cars based on resale value, it should be mainly about what you want to DRIVE, and the Protege does very well in that department.

keep in mind, since this is the last year of the current Protege, it should be relatively bug-free as it has had 5 years of refining.

15200 sounds like a decent price for a base ES. Auto or manual?

check the TMV on this site for a more concrete price.

good luck in your car shopping.

stupidcar · January 2003

it is a manual transmission.. the TMV says 15,239 after destination charge.. edmunds says invoice price is 14,684 but TMV is 14,671.. why would a dealer be willing to sell a car for less than what they bought it for or does the invoice price include some percentage for the dealer?

the_big_h · January 2003

because they need to clear the inventory for Mazda3!

another reason to get the '03 Protege because it's such a great deal!

also check if there are any rebates on them, I bet there are, again to move inventory :-)

vocus · January 2003

I have seen ESs advertised for invoice - a couple hundred. Dealers to what they have to do in an economy like this to sell cars.

meinrad · January 2003

You must have something going on there kiddo, cause everything is fast as can be for me.

That old browser of yours probably doesn't like this new site.

boggse · January 2003

If you are buying a new car only to sell it or trade it in a couple of years, then the Protege might not be the best choice. I love the Protege and have owned 2 so far, but resale value is not this car's strong suit. I don't think the Mazda3 will negatively effect resale value, but it isn't too good to begin with, so that isn't saying much. If you want high resale value, buy a Honda Civic. You'll be missing out on all the fun of the Protege, but you'll save a lot of money when you dump the car in a few years.

Mazda Protegé

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